Anyway back to regularly scheduled program !!   

Obviously, it wouldn't be a surprise visit if you scheduled it.

The additional bump of money at the end comes about because you have been paying your mortgage down for a few years so you are further along in the amortization schedule which means your mortgage will be smaller than the new mortgsge and when the new buyer pays off the new mortgage, then you get the difference.

A FHA 203k Loan is where the purchase price and rehab costs are rolled into a single loan.Assuming you have a respectable FICO you can buy, with a FHA Loan (3-5% down, a 30 year amortization schedule, and a residential loan rate) AND because you closed personally, you will not have Asset Protection, in the form of closing in the name of a LLC/ LLC taxed as an S Corp, or an S Corp.

I would have loved to have tried to meet up with him in person (if his schedule would have allowed).

I also reccomend lining up a contractro early, realy early, from what I’ve heard, so you can keep everything on schedule and budget.So now that you’ve tackled what most investors would call a major job, do you see yourself repeating a similar strategy.. or do you feel like branching out into something else?

I have better things to do with my time (like never being on the phone unless it's a scheduled call). 

The DSCR program "Must use the lesser of the two either common rent from the appraiser 1007 rent schedule form on the appraisal or the lease".You also have to factor in the taxes and insurance because a guesstimate or ball park can kill the approval. 

I also recommend explaining what the penalty will be if she's not out as scheduled.

I recommend requesting the detailed reports and scheduling a meeting with them to discuss everything in detail.